Where Do You Go?

Where do you go?

When I can’t find you and can’t reach you –

Where do you go?

Why shouldn’t I be worried about you?

Thank you to    The Haunted Wordsmith for another picture prompt.  When I first saw it, I thought of the late nights I have had recently, walking back home through London streets after finishing at 1am in the morning.  Then I thought about the anxiety someone might feel for a loved one who is out in the wee hours of the morning and does not account for their movements.  But I have to start work soon, and it is going to be another marathon day.

For the past two weeks, I have felt as if I was constantly chasing my tail and due to my spare time being so limited, my blog posts became shorter and had less “interesting” content.  In addition, I missed out on several word and picture prompts.  Nevermind hey!  Not many of us can afford the time to produce something worth readiing for every single writing prompt that appears.

This week, I have tried to be clever by preparing a few posts well in advance and scheduling them to be published during the week to come.  I felt it was my only option because I was doing extra shifts to cover the holidays of colleagues at work. Being able to schedule the publishing of posts is great, but it does mean missing out on a lot of the fantastic prompts out there.  Shame hey!

Some of the other branches I’m working at to cover holidays are eerily quiet at times.  I have realized it is quite acceptable to spend the quiet times reading a book or writing in a notepad.  So, it turns out I have been able to be fairly productive this week.  I’ll just have to type up my scrawlings at some point.

What I am really struggling with though is keeping up with other bloggers’ posts.  I am sorry.  If you think I am being rude and not checking out your posts despite the fact you continually support me, please please do send me a comment along the lines of:

“Oy! Caramel – you have not stopped by for a while!”

I promise you I will make your site my priority in my long catch-up list.  I am sorry if I have neglected supporting other bloggers.  My time has been evaporating at an alarming rate these past two weeks!  So please do shout out if I have been overlooking your posts.

Well we all have lives to lead…so I am sure you will understand this predicament only too well, and relate to how it feels to know you are not keeping up with other bloggers as much as you would like to.  I look forward to my schedule settling down a bit, so I get back into a routine that allows me to be a better blogger and support other bloggers more.

https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2018/08/30/worth-a-thousand-words-29/

It’s Usually The Male Of The Species Who Make The Effort

When I first saw this picture prompt from    The Haunted Wordsmith I was bowled over by how  pretty spectacular this little chappy is – I am sure you would agree.

I had in my head a little short story…basically along the lines of how the males of many species are the more colourful and go to the most effort to win a mate…whereas, it often seems the other way around with humans!

I had this story in my mind, but to tell the story I thought I needed to mention what kind of creature he actually is.  I sent a message to Teresa (aka The Haunted Wordsmith) to ask what kind of creature it is.  She said it is a peacock mantis shrimp.  Google helped me find two fascinating articles on the peacock mantis shrimp.  The first was from National Geographic and the second was from Awake!

“This otherworldly creature, a mantis shrimp, was photographed in the waters of Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait. The shrimp feeds by smashing open its prey with a force that can break a pane of glass, and its darting bulbous eyes are thought to be the most complex in nature.”

– NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The Eye of the Peacock Mantis Shrimp

 The peacock mantis shrimp, found on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, is equipped with the most complex eyesight in the animal kingdom. “It really is exceptional,” says Dr. Nicholas Roberts, “outperforming anything we humans have so far been able to create.”

Consider: The peacock mantis shrimp can perceive polarized light and process it in ways that humans cannot do. Polarized light waves may travel along a straight line or rotate in a corkscrew motion. Unlike other creatures, this mantis shrimp not only sees polarized light in both its straight-line and corkscrew forms but is also able to convert the light from the one form to the other. This gives the shrimp enhanced vision.

DVD players work in a similar way. To process information, the DVD player must convert polarized light aimed at a disc into a corkscrew motion and then change it back into a straight-line format. But the peacock mantis shrimp goes a step further. While a standard DVD player only converts red light​—or in higher-resolution players, blue light—​the shrimp’s eye can convert light in all colours of the visible spectrum.

Researchers believe that using the peacock mantis shrimp’s eye as a model, engineers could develop a DVD player that plays discs with far more information than today’s DVDs. “What’s particularly exciting is how beautifully simple it is,” says Roberts. “It works much, much better than any attempts that we’ve made to construct a device.”

-AWAKE!

And…thinking back to the story I had in mind originally…I wouldn’t mind if more men put a bit more effort into finding a mate – a bit like the spectacular peacock mantis shrimp!  Let’s allow Sir David Attenburough to talk us through it.

Typical…my story has vanished, because I am distracted by something amazing I have learnt about a creature I never knew about before.  I am sure my story would not have done any justice to this incredible and quite marvellous creature.  Thanks Teresa…for a picture prompt that has opened my eyes to something rather awe-inspiring!

 

https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2018/08/29/worth-a-thousand-words-28/

It Will Never Stand Up In Court

Today’s picture prompt from    The Haunted Wordsmith:

The prosecution’s case depended on the testimony of an eye-witness to 483 individual acts of piracy, kidnapping and theft, as well as an array of other allegations.

The defense lawyer smiled, he knew the witness would not even be allowed in court, let alone be asked to raise his wing and swear on the holy scriptures that he was telling the whole truth…

His client Captain Black Beard had nothing to fear from his turncoat parrot.  The defence lawyer could only guess what kind of bonus he would receive from his client after the trial was over.

https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2018/08/28/worth-a-thousand-words-27/

Maybe In Our Wildest Moments

I am in love with a song…well, not just the song, the whole production of this single.  I love the beat, the incredible beat.  I even love the video.  I think it’s perfect.  This is not a song that needs bells and whistles in the video…they kept it poignantly simple.

I love it even though I have not been in that situation – the situation the lyrics seem to hint at.  But when I feel even a little bit sad, and I want to listen to some music that matches my mood…(and at times I want to listen to something sultry and mournful)…and this is at the top of my list for misty eyed music at the moment.

I should probably save this for one of those lyrical challenges, but I have been listening to it while doing my house-work and I love love love the beat.  Even though I cannot really relate to the kind of relationship the lyrics describe…I am still walking round singing the verses.

You and I bloodlines
We come together every time
Two wrongs, no rights
We lose ourselves at night

From the outside, from the outside
Everyone must be wondering why we try
Why do we try

Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the worst of all
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the worst of all

Wait on, thunder sky
Wherever there’s smoke, there’ll soon be fire
What could bring bad luck
I’ve been looking at you too much

From the outside, from the outside
Everyone must be wondering why we try
Why do we try

Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the worst of all
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the worst of all

In the middle of it
We walk, the line
Looking back I miss it
Our wildest moments
Are you thinking what if
What if we ruined it all
My wrecking ball

From the outside, from the outside
Everyone must be wondering why we try
Why do we try

Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the worst of all
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest
Maybe in our wildest moments
We could be the worst of all

What I Want For You And Me

I am absolutely loving the writing prompts from    Sarah Elizabeth Moore …

I am watching The Great British Bake Off Right Now (incase you are wondering why I am not reading your posts)…but I am working on this post at the same time because it is such a great prompt.  I am just really chuffed to be actually publishing a post in response to one of her prompts on the day that it is linked to!

Whenever I hear the manifesto of a political party coming up to the time of an election, I realize I have a much more hopeful, cheerier idea of the kind of world I would like to live in than most politicians. I know I have a few photos already of what I envision for the whole earth to be like one day.  But I just typed into google search engine the word that I guess sums up what I want for you and me and everyone else on the planet:

PARADISE

…and I was thrilled with the gorgeous photos and pictures that appeared.

Now, before you cast your eyes over these pictures, please don’t think I envision us all lying in hammocks all day being served cocktails by men in skimpy clothing.  Oh no no no!

My idea of paradise is cultivating and landscaping this entire earth so that every part of it is as beautiful as the glimpses of paradise that we see in travel brochures.  Now that means work.

But what wonderful work,  can you imagine if we were one huge international workforce who had been assigned the task of making this whole earth the way it should be.  We work together to make sure everyone had a satisfactory home and we would be learning all sorts of skills, construction, making our own furniture and clothes and tools.  Learning to cultivate our own crops and veggies.  Learning how to care  for animals properly.  Just really truly living the way everything inside tells me we are supposed to be living.

No war, no crime, no disease, no grief, no violence, no rasicm, no suffering…just joy and peace.  I mentioned this before….I have Liverpool roots, but am no relation to John Lennon.  However…I will steal his lines:

“You may say that I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one!”

When I close my eyes, this is the world I would just love to see:

And I would love for you and yours to be able to enjoy this forever!

 

https://sarahelizabethmoore.org/2018/08/28/day-28-2018-awac/

https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/10/09/manifesto/

https://fivedotoh.com/2019/02/16/fowc-with-fandango-paradise/

 

Just Some (Not All) Of The Things That Make Me Happy

Although I am obviously way out of sync with these, I found I could not resist another writing prompt from    Sarah Elizabeth Moore…

Right up there at the top are my family and friends who now feel like family.  Goldfinch makes me very happy.  I feel happy when I have worked and can rest up and relax.  I feel happy when I see my loved ones are happy.

I have a long list of other things that make me happy…

I mean how about all that for a start!!!!

Life should be full of happy moments, wonderful people and experiences who make your existence colourful and rich!  Then when hard times come, you have a treasure of memories to keep you going, focused on the joy to be had in the future.

Yup…I have absolutely no shortage of ideas to include in my response to the prompt:

• Day 2 – Some of the things that make me happy are…

What would make me even happier is if everybody on the planet was able to enjoy life like we were designed to.

Nuts About Fresh Air And Punctuality

This is my response to the invitation to share some of our world from   The Haunted Wordsmith So, this weeks Share Your World questions are:

Do you prefer eating foods with nuts or no nuts?

Love nuts – I live throwing cashew nuts or sometimes just peanuts into stir-fries.  I like baking with pecan nuts and peanut butter.  I love making my own pesto with pine nuts.

 

The only nut I don’t get on very well is hazelnuts.  I like them in brownies or even better in blondies, but for some reason I have never liked the taste of chocolate hazelnut – which is odd because it is such a popular combination.  It just makes me feel a little sick.  I think I must have had too many chocolate hazelnuts from the tin of Quality Street Chocolates that was always floating about at home when I grew up…maybe having too many has put me off them?

Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?

I have developed the habit of my closet door being open.  I am not sure why.  It might be my love of fresh air.  I like to get fresh air into every  part of my little abode, including my closet.  I don’t like that musty smells wardrobes sometimes seem to have.

Are you usually late, early, or right on time?

All my clocks are ten minutes fast…but I am just about on time for most things except for events I am anxious about.  I arrive so early I have to find somewhere to go and have a cuppa because it would frighten people if I arrived that early.

Mum could not bare being late for anything…so she trained us to regard punctuality highly.  But sometimes in London, it it can be hard to get timings spot on.

https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2018/08/27/share-your-world/

https://ceenphotography.com/2018/08/27/share-your-world-august-27-2018/

Come Away With Me

Here is my little attempt to contribute to another fabulous writing prompt which has been created by    Laura M Bailey:

Manic Mondays 3 Way Prompt: Journey

Take my hand sweet Goldfinch and come away with me on an adventure,

a journey of a life-time.

With you by my side, I fear nothing.

I will never be cold again and I will make sure I keep you just as warm.

We will discover new paths

Forge uncharted wilderness

When you are weary

I will be your comfort and safe haven

I will refresh and nourish you every day

Come away with me sweet Goldfinch

I would rather journey with you

Than remain lost and alone

https://alltheshoesiwear.wordpress.com/2018/08/27/manic-mondays-3-way-prompt-6/

Looking Forward To…

I have been a very busy bee this week…crazy busy in fact.

I have been feeling utterly exhausted and all weekend have been trying to catch up on my sleep debt.  But by the time you read this I will be having a bite to eat with some friends before I come home and collapse into bed before another early start tomorrow.

At the start of this week, I had some very special visitors.  My youngest sister Milly came to stay for a couple of nights with her lovely husband and the super adorable little munchkin – my niece, who is just over 15 months old.

When they arrived, my sister and her husband made a couple of trips back and to the car to fetch all the extra luggage they carry around now that they have a baby to think about.  Meanwhile, Little One did the most adorable thing.  She walked up to me smiling shyly and then as she was close she held out her arms and gave me a big kiss.  She can say “hiya” now.

It was, as always, wonderful to be with them.  I cooked lovely food and baked a yummy cake, which all went down like a treat.

This is little one on a travel pram they brought who decided she would wisely use the travel time to catch up on her reading list.

We went out to the park with Little One and then took her to one of these indoor play centers with a little ball pool and all sorts of other features to keep Little One excited and entertained for hours!

How she loves the other children, even though they were notably older than she is.  Milly mentioned that all of her cousins and the children of their friends are all a few months or a couple of years older than my neice and she does her best to keep up with all of them.

Well, when I saw the writing prompt from  Sarah Elizabeth Moore…

• Day 23 – What are you looking forward to the most?

….a hundred things went through my head, as usual – for there are many, many things I am looking forward to.  But after such a splendid visit from my nearest and dearest, I think one of the things I am looking forward to the most, is the next time I am with my gorgeous sister Milly and her very lovable family.

 

 

 

 

Oozing Confidence!

Another of the challenges created by   aguycalledbloke

…and this week he has created another “Game On” challenge, as he explains in the post below:

https://aguycalledbloke.blog/2018/08/26/game-on-series-2-confidence/

This challenge is based on the theme: CONFIDENCE.

The Rules …

1] Leave the Permanent Questions [PQ] always in place PLEASE.

2] Reblog should you so desire

3] If you do reblog, a ping back would always be welcomed so l don’t miss it.

4] This is a non tagger/non nomination game.

Daily Topic Subject – Confidence

Q1] What does confidence mean to you?

It is a mix between having no shame….and having a very solid foundation on which your life is built.

That may be solid values, a solid support network of family and friends, a real grasp on what is important.  Realizing that you cannot be easily swayed by popular opinion or propaganda, because you realize that lots of people don’t check their facts, they just get caught up in the current and have no idea about a lot of important things.

Things might go wrong, but you can recover because of the solid foundation you are built on.

Q2] What you do believe to be your main strengths?

Any strengths I have are all due to the hard work my parents and others put into me.  I am so grateful for them.

I am a fairly good communicator.

My memory seems fairly sharp.

I like to be helpful.

I am a great side-kick.  I love to support someone who is my superior.

I tend to be obedient.  If you give me a recipe…I will follow it precisely.  I like to be obedient.

If I say I will do something for you, I will – Mum and Dad set the example in reliability and faithfulness.

Mum and Dad have set a great example, which I try to follow, in humility (which I think is one of the most beautiful qualities) and industriousness.

I like to work hard and give my employer an honest day’s work.  I like to learn.  I am willing to go in and start from scratch and patiently learn a new skill.

Q3] What do you think are your weaknesses?

Do you really have time to read all of my weaknesses?

• Cheese (I am not great with dairy, but I love cheese!)
• I tend to bottle things up emotionally.
• I don’t like to be a burden to anyone, so sometimes try to handle things alone instead of crying for help.
• My left ankle is weak…I have strained the ligaments in it many times.
• The right side of my head, I still worry it looks odd after the injuries I received three years ago.
• I am a bit of a technophobe.
• I sometimes publish my posts without checking for spelling or grammar errors.
• I am always forgetting umbrellas, I leave them on the bus, in restaurants, in my friends’ cars or hallways.
• I am not very good at being creative or artistic.
• I have always needed there to be someone who tells me “Well done!”  Without some kind of positive feedback, I get rather anxious that I might be doing things wrong.

Q4] Are you a risk taker?

Not when it comes to life…life is a phenomenal gift and I would not endanger life.  I am not the type to get frustrated about health and safety legislation.  If it saves one life, it is worth it.

What would I risk?  Erm…well, recently I gave in my notice to my former employer without having a job to go to.  Things worked out of course, but I was nervous!

PQ5] List 8 things that positively impact your confidence.

Does that count as my answer to that question?

Q6] Do you learn from your mistakes?

Is not the ability to learn from your mistakes a major advantage to life!

If you can’t learn from you mistakes, you are just going to keep getting hurt over and over.  I hope I have learnt from most of my mistakes.

PQ7] List 8 things that negatively impact your confidence..

Mirrors!

Tiredness.

Being the subject of unkind gossip.

The intense pain I have in my head at times.

People who are aggressive or get angry quickly.

Flashbacks to the crime I was victim of three years ago.

It is odd to see little children who know more about technology than I do.

I wish I was perfect for Goldfinch.  I love him so much, but I am not the woman of his dreams…or he would not be going back to Australia would he?

Q8] How are you when meeting new people for the first time?

Fine…good manners, politeness help everywhere.  Most people respond to a smile and kindness.

Show interest in other people – many people love to talk about themselves, so just be good at listening and asking questions to encourage them.

I do love people…although I have come across some absolute rotters…but you don’t know what someone is truly like until much later down the line.

Q9] If you had to address a and audience and deliver a five minute speech on a subject you were passionate about – could you do it?

I have done it hundreds of times.

Q10] What is your current attitude towards politics?

Neutral with regards to human politics.

However, I obey the law and pay my taxes.  I just don’t vote.

Q11] Would you describe yourself as a confident person?

I think you have to be to survive in London, especially if you are driving a car.

I used to be a lot more shy when I was younger.  But I have had so many wonderful experiences of overcoming my nerves and getting to know and work with new people over the years.  I am more confident now.

I don’t know how confidant I am, but I am not shy like I used to be.  I am much more relaxed.

PQ12] In reference to Question 9 – if you answered yes what would be your specialist subject for five minutes’? Discuss

Oh goodness…there is an awful lot I can talk about.  It all depends on the audience.  I would pick a very different theme and subject depending on who made up my audience.

If I could choose my audience, it would be a group of house-keepers and I would discuss the marvels of white vinegar.

Q13] How sure are you of your feelings and emotions – as in are you true to them?

I have lots of feelings and emotions…but I know they might be wrong at times, and if they could lead me to harm or cause me to hurt someone, I would do my utmost to suppress them.

I like to make decisions based on clear reason, but that also feel right.  When I need advice with a decision, I would turn to someone who is not overly sentimental, who can think logically.

Q14] How well do you cope with unexpected changes to your routines?

Happens all the time!  I try not to worry anymore.  Things happen.  If you are tied to a plan or a schedule and can’t cope with a disruption, stress can rise quickly.  I just try to keep focused on my end purpose or objective and accept that there may be many different ways to get things done.

PQ15] In reference to question 9 – and you answered no, but still had to be in front of the audience, what WOULD your confidence allow you do – explain.

I answered yes…

But in addition to giving a speech, I would be happy to offer a song too!

Perhaps even a dance, if my audience were paying to see me perform.

Q16] Is success important to you?

Define success!  Success to me involves things like:

Learning to love, and being loved – humans thrive on love. (I am not talking about romantic love necessarily, though that is nice too!)

Being honest, being trustworthy, having integrity.

Doing what you can to look after your health.

Having satisfying work and a safe, clean home.

Q17] Do you set yourself goals and are you able to achieve them within your set target periods?

I used to set many goals.  I am sure having goals helped me to make good decisions.

Since I was the victim of a crime three years ago, I have had to adjust my expectations of myself somewhat and although I maintain my focus on my objective, I try to be more patient.  But I know where I am headed and I have to build up my strength to get home.

Q18] True or false – You are born with self-confidence?

I think that is false.  So much of what shapes our personality depends on the environment in which we grew up.  I was shy as a kiddo, I have developed confidence when I have seen how things worked out for people who my parents advised me were not making wise decisions.  Mum and Dad were right about almost everything!

Q19] Do you believe that you cannot be successful in life if you do not have self-confidence?

Erm…No, I think.

However, I think it is an element of self-confidence, no just wisdom, that helps you to reject the popular view of success – fame, wealth, physical perfection – and instead live your life with real purpose and meaning.

I will say this though…people might be secure and confidant about themselves for all the wrong reasons!!!  Goodness, I have come across some eeeed-yats…I don’t like to be unkind about people.  But I have seen people who have had everything money can buy but were total losers!  Not that they realized that – nope they seemed to think they were rahter wonderful.

PQ20] Are you deleting any questions, if so which ones?

I am not deleting any of these.

Q21] Do you believe people with self-confidence are all arrogant?

Hmm….arrogance is not nice.  However, I think it is healthy to have a reasonable amount of self-esteem based on knowing you are a good person.  I think you have to get the right balance.  If you a nervous wreck all the time you won’t be enjoying life to the full, and other people will not know what to do around you if you are falling to pieces all the time.

A good sense of humour goes a long way to being relaxed in your own skin.

It is almost like having a good conscience…you can hold your head up and look people in the eye, because you know that you would never intentionally hurt them or steal from them or in anyway be cruel. That is far more important than the clothes you wear or how large your bank account is.

Live your life as a giver…no need to be shy.  Just jeep giving others reasons for joy.